Cincinnati

City Gospel Mission program builds friendships at The Outlet

By Newsroom

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February 12, 2013

Kevin Rosebrook, who serves as vice president of homeless services at City Gospel Mission, says stereotypes of homelessness are broken down when volunteers interact with guests at The Outlet. Rosebrook remembers four years ago, when he sat across the table from a man who was homeless. The two did not know each other, but they came to find out they shared striking similarities. They both attended Miami University at the same time; they were both athletes; and they both shared similar friends. “He’s obviously a very gifted person, [who was] able to succeed in college and was a varsity athlete, and yet some mental illness he had caused him to have different struggles in his life and find himself homeless,” Rosebrook says. It’s these kinds of stories, he says, that open people’s eyes to the reality that homeless individuals can’t be stereotyped as having a “lack of education” or as being individuals who “just need to go out and get a job.” ”And these kinds of thoughts that were told as true and that become acceptable in middle class communities are not true,” says Rosebrook. “And I think that impacts people when they sit across the table from someone and recognize they have many similarities.” The Outlet is a program that enables volunteers and homeless individuals to do just that—whether it’s by sitting down with one another to share a donut and a cup of coffee, playing ping pong or pool, making arts and crafts, listening to live music or kicking back for a game of cards. In an effort to achieve City Gospel Mission’s vision of “breaking the cycle of poverty one life at a time,” The Outlet aims to bring people together to form relationships that help homeless individuals address needs, whether those needs are physical, mental, social or pertain to one’s faith. “Nine times out of 10, when a person has gone from homelessness to the middle class, it’s because of a significant person in their life, so we want to create those significant relationships,” says Rosebrook. So every Saturday and on the first and third Sundays of the month, more than 100 guests and about 30 volunteers hang out and get to know one another better. Rosebrook says he would love to see the program expand to every Sunday and even throughout the week during after-dinner hours. “Ultimately, it’s about resources," Rosebrook says. "We say it all the time—it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And those things are true for the guests we serve, and it’s putting them in contact with the right people. We have some of those resources and are trying to help our guests reach that level of independence, one life at a time.” But it’s not just the guests who are impacted by their experiences at The Outlet. Rosebrook says volunteers often tell him they were impacted far more than they could ever impact someone else’s life. “I think many volunteers want to do a good thing and want to feel good about themselves on some level, but then when they get there, I think their eyes are open to just love—loving the people that are there and recognizing it could be any of us,” he says. “And I think it shatters a lot of the stereotypes that we came in with. That’s what I want to encourage our volunteers to do the most is to just be open when they come in.” Do Good: • Volunteer at The Outlet by enjoying fellowship through music, games and crafts with guests. • Donate items or funds to support The Outlet. • Like City Gospel Mission's page on Facebook. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Latest in Cincinnati

Sweaty Bands kick knockoffs to the curb in Linwood

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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February 12, 2013

Donna Browning was a fitness teacher with an annoying problem: hair in her face and headbands that would not stay put. Today, she’s selling her solution to that problem, dubbed “Sweaty Bands,” to women who’ve embraced her company’s tagline: “OMG…they don’t slip!” An endorphin addict—she’s taught everything from Pilates and yoga to sculpting classes and cardio sessions—Browning loved to exercise but hated hair accessories that didn’t work with the microphone she wore to teach. Sure she could solve the problem, she borrowed a sewing machine from a friend, grabbed supplies from a craft store and churned out headband after headband until she found an adjustable, elastic band that stayed in place. Soon, she was toting a bag full of the headbands in her gym bag and selling them to friends at the gym. After driving up to Cleveland for some training from Ladies Who Launch, an organization that helps women become entrepreneurs, she launched Sweaty Bands. “I didn’t want it to be a preppy ribbon-in-the-hair thing," Browning says. "I wanted it to be a kick your butt, sporty accessory." With a range of styles, including custom options, she says the company’s product has become so popular that now they’re noticing knockoffs popping up. Still, Browning says, few competitors rival her team of in-house designers: “We’re constantly meeting, looking at magazines, going to the mall, and checking out upcoming trends so that what we have, nobody else will have.” These days, she’s focusing on custom orders for clients as large as John Freida, Pantene and Skinny Girl—or as small as a single headband. By Robin Donovan

Video University of Cincinnati: If You Can Play

By University of Cincinnati

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Diversity

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February 12, 2013

UC athletes Kyle Neyer and Emily Hayden found support and encouragement when they pitched the idea of a video in support of LGBT athletes. The result? "You Can Play."

Enterprise Social Network Startup Batterii Closes $2.5M Seed, Led By CincyTech

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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February 12, 2013

Cincinnati-based enterprise social network startup Batterii, which describes itself as a co-creation software platform, has closed a $2.5 million seed round led by public-private seed stage investor CincyTech—which contributed $500,000 to the round. Other investors include Batterii CEO Kevin C. Cummins, Los Angeles-based investor Ken Salkin and undisclosed individuals. Read the full story here.

Uptown Consortium partners with Urban League to promote job growth

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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February 12, 2013

Uptown Consortium, an organization dedicated to building up and revitalizing the neighborhoods of uptown Cincinnati, currently has about $700 million worth of development that has been completed, is underway or will be completed in the next 12 months, says Beth Robinson, president and CEO of the nonprofit. “We were looking for a way we could reach out to the residents and make sure they’re participating in the economic and development boom here in Uptown,” Robinson says. So the organization partnered with the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati to sponsor and modify sections of its SOAR Program and Construction Connections apprenticeship. Robinson says the Urban League’s programs are a perfect fit because they have high job-placement rates for their graduates and are also located in Uptown. “A few years ago, we did some work in this area and did a session with HR representatives from the big institutions up here—an informational session—and from that, we learned job readiness is something that our residents here who are out of work could really benefit from," she says. To help address that issue, SOAR, which is a three-week program that provides training in areas like resume writing, interviewing and employer expectations, will help to prepare Uptown residents and then help them gain employment. Once participants complete SOAR, they are encouraged to take part in the Construction Connections program if they show an interest in the trade. Through the eight-week program, participants learn the basic skills needed to secure employment. “Urban League is great because they have working relationships for job placement with all the big construction companies in town,” Robinson says. Uptown Consortium is looking at its sponsorship of the two programs as a pilot project, but Robinson says she’s confident that it will be successful. If all goes as planned, about 25 Uptown residents will go from unemployed to employed in the coming months, with 15 of those residents working on the construction and developments in their community that will improve livability and promote place-making. “We’re really excited,” Robinson says. “We feel like it really adds value for Uptown residents.” Do Good: • Learn more about SOAR and similar programs by visiting the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati's website. • Keep up with all the news from Uptown Cincinnati by liking its page on Facebook. • Be a part of community building in Uptown by checking out the events happening in the area. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Will Casinos Be a Win for Ohio Cities?

By Anna Clark

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Cincy In The News

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February 5, 2013

Last year, after Ohio became the latest state to legalize casino gambling, its first gaming complex opened in downtown Cleveland. Casinos in Toledo and Columbus appeared soon thereafter, and another is slated for Cincinnati. But will these glitzy institutions deliver the new tax revenues that political and business leaders expect? Read the full story here.

Architecture by Children embeds learning in discovery of the built environment

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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February 5, 2013

Kyle Campbell remembers designing his first house when he was home sick from school in the fourth grade. “Ever since then, going through high school, while most people would go out and do things, I would actually build models of houses I designed just for fun,” he says. “Coming into architecture was sort of a long time coming.” Campbell, who currently serves as the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati’s board member for the Architecture by Children program, did not initially make the decision to major in architecture, but he says the built environment has always had a huge impact on him. “I was a huge LEGO nerd,” says Campbell. “So the thought of building space and constructing things and designing things has always been a big part of who I am.” Now Campbell is sharing his childhood love with others in the ABC program. Jointly sponsored by the AFC and a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the program aims to teach architectural principles to students through hands-on projects, as explained by volunteer architects. Campbell is one of those volunteers, but he’s also working to evaluate the program by matching it with the Ohio Department of Education's academic content standards to ensure that it has a lasting educational impact. “The AFC, as of this year, has decided that we want to take a more invested role in how the program unfolds because essentially, what we’ve been in the past is a donor of money,” Campbell says. “We’d like to be able to provide more manpower and more resources to help it be more successful.” The program currently reaches about 60 schools and 1,100 students, with ideally one architect assigned to each school. Participating students are tasked with a new project each year. This year, they are designing a museum of their choice for a space at 12th and Vine streets downtown. One seventh grade student has envisioned a nature museum with a river running throughout and a grand staircase with water flowing from the roof to simulate a waterfall that flows into an outdoor pond the public can enjoy. Her museum also contains a fountain enclosed in glass so people who are not inside the museum can interact with it. “It’s just amazing coming from a seventh grader because those are the things I’d dream to do in a real-world project,” Campbell says. “The most important thing is to keep the kids understanding that it’s okay to be creative and to think outside the box.” Campbell says he’s proud of the architecture this city has to offer, and he’s made it a personal goal to help the AFC achieve its mission of “educating the greater community of Cincinnati on the built environment.” “Most people don’t realize that Cincinnati has a fantastic history in architecture; it’s actually one of the most historical cities in the development of modern architecture,” Campbell says. “I want to be able to use the AFC as a way of educating the general public on those kinds of things.” Do Good: • View ABC student projects at the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the week of April 13-20. • Contact the AFC if you live in a home or know of a historically significant building that you'd like to share or learn more about. • Attend the AFC's exhibit, ENVISION CINCINNATI. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Public-private partnerships lead the way in a Cincinnati neighborhood’s revival

By Newsroom

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Architecture + Design

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February 5, 2013

There is more than meets-the-eye in Over-The-Rhine and its recent (and unlikely) revival. A unique partnership between city leaders, local corporations and private developers helped to pave the way for what is becoming one of America’s greatest smart growth success stories. Read the full story here.

Alliance for Immigrant Women builds confidence, changes lives

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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February 5, 2013

One out of every four women in America are victims of domestic abuse, says Julie Marzec, program coordinator for the Alliance for Immigrant Women. Marzec, who in previous years spent time working in Latin America, says their statistics were much higher, with four out of five women predicted to be affected by domestic abuse. “That doesn’t just go away when they come to the United States,” Marzec says. Cincinnati became home to an influx of immigrants in the early 2000s; and in 2001, a group of organizations came together in an effort to assist women facing a number of troubling issues within the community. Shelters were unable to provide women with the support they needed for a number of reasons, including language barriers and lack of legal support, Marzec says. So the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati formed the Alliance for Battered and Abused Immigrant Women. The nonprofit’s efforts have now shifted and are led chiefly by the YWCA, which has formed a coalition with more than 30 organizations—the AIW. The main goal is to provide support for women who have either been victims of domestic abuse themselves, or know someone who has. The AIW assists women in a variety of ways, whether it is through teaching them about healthy relationships, creating multilingual safety plans, training other social workers and law enforcement officers about successful tactics for helping those in need, or referring women to other organizations within the alliance that can best help them. As part of the community education goal, the AIW hosts a Lunch & Learn series, a monthly luncheon where service providers eat, listen and learn about an issue central to domestic violence survivors within the immigrant population. This month’s session, “Domestic Violence and Immigrant Women with HIV/AIDS,” takes place Feb. 20 at the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati. “It’s really a chance for community members to reach out and meet each other, learn a little bit about different opportunities and different references they utilize in the future,” Marzec says. The Lunch & Learn series is just one effort the organization has made to raise the profile of immigrant women and domestic abuse, and it hopes to continue to do so through its various advocacy and outreach programs. “To help these women, we really need to learn about it,” says Marzec. “More immigrant women are learning about our services and know there’s an organization out there specifically for them, and that makes a big difference.” Do Good: • Contact Julie Marzec if you're interested in or in need of the organization's services. • Request literature and handouts for immigrant women who may benefit from knowing safety plans and information about domestic abuse. Contact Julie Marzec for more information. • Become culturally competent about immigrant women and the struggles they face when they are survivors of domestic violence. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

Pets in Need offers help for pets, owners

By Newsroom

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For Good

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February 5, 2013

Pets need homes, and according to Cathy Madewell, program director of Pets in Need, it’s not feasible to say that people who can’t afford them shouldn’t take on the responsibility of owning them. “There are just way too many cats and dogs that don’t have homes, and you have too many people with a compassionate heart for them that take them in,” Madewell says. Pets in Need of Greater Cincinnati is set to open in early to mid-March with a facility of its own in Lockland, though the nonprofit is currently running a weekly clinic on Tuesday mornings at Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center. PIN provides basic care, including checkups, vaccines and antibiotics, to pets whose owners can’t afford preventive care. Madewell says that when those involved with PIN first started their work, they witnessed too many pets who had contracted severe diseases and had to be euthanized, either because they had never received a dewormer, or because they had flea infestations that had gotten so bad, they were no longer treatable. “Simple things that could have been avoided,” Madewell says. “We’re now able to provide that and help people keep their pets healthy so that they avoid any major situations, and [so we] don’t end up finding them on a vet’s doorstep.” When PIN opens its new clinic, it will serve members of the community who income-qualify for just $10 a visit—a fee that will cover the visit itself, in addition to any needed vaccines or medicines—so long as the condition is treatable and is within the realm of possibility for what the organization can feasibly take on. PIN currently has two vets—both have other jobs as well. “So they definitely have to have a passion for what they’re doing,” Madewell says. One of the two vets is Jennifer Wells, director of the veterinary technology program at the University of Cincinnati's Blue Ash College. Wells uses PIN to not only assist pets and their owners, but to also provide real-world experience to her students, who use their involvement at PIN as a clinical experience. Madewell says their experience with clients is invaluable, as their other clinical experiences involve animals from the SPCA, for example, so there are no pet owners involved. Prior to being treated at PIN, pets must be spayed or neutered. “We will pay for that for our clients,” Madewell says. “It’s a $10 copay for a cat or a $20 copay for a dog, and we then give them a voucher to use that for spay or neuter.” Clinic hours are currently 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday, though pet owners can begin submitting applications now if a cat or dog needs to be seen prior to PIN’s official opening. Do Good: • Donate to support the work of Pets in Need. • Volunteer to help keep the PIN program running. • Register your Kroger Plus Card so that each time you use it, the PIN program benefits as well. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.